Due to financial restrictions imposed by the All India Football Federation, Kerala Blasters announced on Tuesday that its women’s team would temporarily stop competing. The Blasters were hit with a massive Rs 4 crore fine for their walkout in the ISL playoffs. The decision was taken keeping in mind long time financial stability of the club.
“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the temporary pause of our women’s team. This decision has been necessitated by the recent financial sanctions imposed on our club by the football federation. While we respect the authority and decisions of the federation, we cannot deny our disappointment at the impact it is likely to have across various functions of our club,” the statement said.
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A unique international preseason tour with the men’s team, player exchanges, and exposure tours were among the initiatives indicated in the statement that “the club had plans for increased investments” for the women’s squad. However, all those have been ‘paused’ in the words of the club.
The decision has been met with severe criticism. Former Indian women’s football team, Aditi Chauhan lambasted the club on social media.
So the men’s team gets a fine for what they did and the money comes from the women’s team budget by shutting it down? Great, that’s how women’s football will develop in india. Horrible! https://t.co/0Wxh4xM6Ht
— Aditi Chauhan GK 🇮🇳 (@aditi03chauhan) June 6, 2023
Blasters said that because of the restrictions imposed by AIFF, which prioritise immediate goals over long-term financial stability, the women’s team operations cannot continue until further information is available.
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